Keenum has more time to show improvement

Was it just Bob McNair? The Texans’ owner and general manager Rick Smith? Or a group decision, one that was made in the less than 12-hour period that separated the team’s embarrassing 27-20 road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Thursday and McNair’s announcement Friday that Gary Kubiak had been fired as Texans coach.

Interim coach Wade Phillips vaguely said Monday it was the latter. Speaking with the media for the first time since Kubiak was relieved of his duties, Phillips said a “team decision” resulted in former undrafted rookie Case Keenum’s being named the Texans’ starting quarterback for the final three games of the regular season.

Schaub out of picture?

As during McNair’s news conference, former starter and current backup Matt Schaub’s name was barely mentioned Monday. Like McNair, Phillips consistently spoke of moving the Texans’ highly disappointing 2-11 season forward and seeing what Keenum can accomplish during the last breath of a lifeless year.

“That’s a team decision,” Phillips said at Reliant Stadium. “I think Case needs to go through some of the rough times to get stronger in some areas. Sometimes, he’s got to be able to bring them back during a game. That’s what you want to see out of a young quarterback and see if he can do those things.”

The audition continues for Keenum, a former University of Houston standout who is 0-7 as a starter this year and is scheduled to receive 10 games — 62.5 percent of the season — to prove he should be the Texans’ QB in 2014. Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and Kubiak were alternately complimentary and critical of Keenum during recent weeks. A fill-in starter who ranks 35th out of 36 passers in completion percentage (54.3 percent) must quickly find consistency to ensure the Texans don’t select a potential franchise quarterback with what could be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 draft.

“It’s not a trial basis,” Phillips said. “It’s just an evaluation basis.”

There has been a back-and-forth pull revolving around Keenum since training camp. He was given the opportunity to battle for the backup spot but lost the competition to T.J. Yates. But when Schaub was injured in Week 6 against St. Louis, Yates received only a brief look. Keenum then made the Week 7 start at Kansas City. He has been the starter in every game since, fulfilling a desire some in the organization have held since August to take a hard look at the gunslinging QB.

Kubiak had clearly become frustrated with Keenum’s inefficiency, twice inserting the more experienced Schaub into winnable games against weak opponents.

Key offensive players said the Keenum-Schaub debate leaves them unmoved. The Texans’ offensive scheme barely changes when either is in the game. Having Keenum locked in as the end-of-season starter won’t technically improve the team’s ability to score touchdowns in the red zone or finish off late drives during tight games.

“We don’t really concern ourselves with who the quarterback is anyway,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “It’s on us to clean up what we can do. It’s on us to run the ball better than we have. It’s on us to clean up our protection and give (Keenum) time to operate back there. We know he can make plays when given the time to do it.”

‘Unacceptable’ situation

It’s on Keenum to be better than he’s been. It’s on a sputtering offense to prove it deserves to win for the first time in three months and not finish on a 14-game losing streak.

“We let everybody down, not just (Kubiak),” running back Ben Tate said. “Eleven straight losses is unacceptable. To be in that situation is unacceptable, especially with as much talent as we have on this team and to go from being people’s Super Bowl favorite … and to just come up so short.”